THIS IS A DRAFT
by LeahNari
Summary: A HPLotR crossover, my NaNoWriMo project. Flawed and very notey by part 4 or 5, I just wanted to put down what I have. Don't tell me it contradicts itself and makes no sense, I know that. But if it sounds like I've got a good idea here, please tell me!
1. To Middle Earth

This is a draft of my story, the result of my effort at National Novel-Writing Month. Even this disclaimer/introduction, because I am that cheap. I say again, it is a draft. Towards the end, it gets very scattered and full of random notes. It shifts from actually story to plot summary at random intervals. I believe I repeat myself many times over. Also, I fear the characters are a little assassinated. Severus Snape is not enough of a bastard (don't get me wrong, he's an understandable and somewhat admirable anti-hero, but I like poor Neville better. Let's call a bastard a bastard), Lily has been possessed by Hermione (Muggle-born who knows everything and is unstoppable with magical spells), Remus has more angst and trepidation than he should (I apologize), and James and Sirius are indistinguishable from Biggs and Wedge. Don't get me started on the Lord of the Rings characters. But I hope you can enjoy it, and please give me your opinion about the characterization and where it seems to be headed. Cheers!

* * *

"Heads up, Snivellus!"

Severus Snape ducked and whipped out his wand as something exploded on the wall to his left. Peter Pettigrew was already halfway down the corridor, his shrill giggle echoing slightly off the walls. Interesting that he'd had the guts to do that without Potter or Black around. Severus scowled as he straightened up and examined the smear on the wall, ignoring the other students now hurrying away. Bubotuber pus. How nice. And since most of the school believed that James Potter had "saved his life" the previous week, Severus couldn't complain to anyone without appearing, as Lily had put it, "ungrateful." He swore under his breath as he scooped up his fallen book bag and continued down to the Great Hall.

He sat down at the edge of the Slytherin table, declining the seat Avery offered with as much politeness as he could manage. He'd been in a bad mood for most of the week, ever since Potter had dragged him out from under the Whomping Willow, kicking and cursing. Potter had gotten bashed in the head by a swinging branch and landed a night in the hospital wing. Severus had gotten detention and an even worse reputation that he had already. He sighed and pulled out his potions textbook. He just couldn't deal with people right now.

"Something got you down today?"

"Lily!" he smiled in surprise and slammed his textbook shut. It was rare for her to seek him out at lunch. "How are-- Hello."

She smiled warmly at him, ignoring the several nearby Slytherins who were giving her icy stares. Severus hesitated a moment, then gathered up his things and headed out of the hall with her.

"You didn't need to do that," she said that in a tone of concern. "I wasn't going to stay, I just wanted to ask you something."

"Don't worry about it, he assured her. "What is it?"

"Well," she hesitated, leaning against the stone wall of the corridor, "remember a few weeks ago I was worrying about my Divination O.W.L.?

I said not to, because Divination's a waste of time. You either have the gift, or you don't. Why do you ask?"

"Because," Lily started, and then lowered her voice, "after that you mentioned the Potions O.W.L--"

He laughed in disbelief. "How can you possibly be worried about Potions?"

"I'm not!" She blushed slightly. "I know you and I are both well-prepared for that." She was referring to the hours they'd spent practicing and quizzing each other in Slughorn's classroom every evening. "Actually, this would give us a break from studying."

Severus smiled, intrigued. "Go on."

"Well, Divination and Potions got me thinking: what if you could brew a potion that let you divine the future?" She paused, looking at him expectantly. "Well?"

He blinked, and steepled his fingers together out of habit as he considered. "A draught that mimics Seer properties..."

"Or a divining glass," Lily added. She was never eager to drink a potion, even one that hadn't come out of the classroom. "But do you know of anything like that? Something that we could make?"

"I've heard, vaguely," he put great emphasis on this word, "of such things. But those potions would be beyond anything we've tried before."

"How beyond?"

"So beyond that you only learn about them when you're studying for a career in potions. After Hogwarts." Severus shook his head. "We couldn't attempt any of them at the level we are now. I'm sure Professor Slughorn knows the methods, but I can't see him letting fifth-years try them out, because magic dealing with time can be disastrous if done wrong."

Lily hesitated for a moment. "It still wouldn't hurt to ask." Severus gave her a suspicious look but she continued doggedly.

"You're the best in our year at Potions, Sev. You know it, I know it. Maybe Professor Slughorn would be willing to make an exception, maybe even help us. Come on, Sev." She grabbed his elbow as he started to turn away. "I know you're curious, too."

Damn. He tried to avoid her gaze, a reluctant smile on his face. Through a lot of their time at Hogwarts, the only thing that had kept them together as friends had been their common passion for potions. Severus had straight skill and intuition, the sense of timing and method imperative to delicate mixtures. Lily had this same intuition with ingredients, combined with sheer nerve. She took risks with her potions, always having a rational explanation on hand. And as his Potions partner for nearly every Gryffindor/Slytherin class for nearly five years, she knew he'd never leave a question like this one unanswered.

So it didn't surprise Severus in the least when he found himself seeking out Professor Slughorn later that afternoon to ask his advice on potions that revealed the future.

XX

"I've never tried anything like this."

Severus emptied his arms and, as several jars clattered and rolled across the surface of the desk, snatched up an old, heavily creased piece of parchment. He held it a foot from his face and slowly leaned back against the desk behind him.

Slughorn had been hesitant when he first asked, but when Severus mentioned it was Lily Evans' idea, the professor gladly relinquished instructions to a "simple" potion called the "Liquid Looking Glass." It didn't sound very difficult to make - all ingredients they'd handled before, and only a week to brew - the tricky part, as far as Severus could see, depended on the will and discipline of the mixer.

"You need an idea of what you want to see in the mirror. And you need to keep that idea fixed in your mind as you're making it. This potion is designed to show you anything, from what's inside there," he pointed to an old, weather-beaten trunk in the corner of the room, "to what Shaw's aunt did last Friday at 7:00." He saw Lily nod absently, fiddling with her wand almost unconsciously. He cleared his throat and continued. "So if you want to see your own future, you have to be specific. But not extremely. You could say 'What will I be doing five years hence?' or something like that. Or you could say, 'Show me my ten greatest achievements."

Lily smiled, leaning on the side of the desk. "I love it when they're flexible like that." She suddenly frowned. "So does that mean each potion is only good for seeing one thing?"

Severus nodded. "That's why it's not insanely complicated. The mixture loses its potency within minutes, after the images fade. You only have time to answer one question. That's partly why it's important to know what you want to see." He paused, considering. "And since it's so maker-oriented, you should be primary mixer. I'll just be here to help."

Lily nodded in agreement but her frown deepened and she pulled down Severus' hand to angle the parchment toward her. "Do you think there's a way to make it last longer?"

Her putting her hand on his was unusual, and a little unsettling. Severus had deemed it none of his business to ask if Lily had a reason to want to see her future, but as she examined the parchment, he couldn't help but feel a bit concerned.

He shrugged off this feeling and handed the paper to Lily. "You're the primary mixer."

XX

A week later, the potion had reached a luminous periwinkle blue. It lacked the faint silver tint it was supposed to have at this point and Severus was quick to point this out.

"I think it's because of the unicorn parts. I crushed the horn instead of powdering it, and decreased the amount of blood needed by one-twentieth." Lily wiped the back of her hand across her brow. "The way I see it, it's still evenly distributed, but longer-lasting. What do you think?"

"I think we should ask the professor's advice before we go any further."

Lily rolled her eyes, but nodded. The classroom door opened loudly behind them. "Ah, Miss Evans. Mr. Snape. How is it coming along?"

Severus turned around. "It's fine, Professor, but I think we need your advice--" He stopped short as he saw Professor Slughorn stroll into the room, followed by James Potter and Sirius Black. They both returned his look of distaste and it took all his concentrated efforts to turn his head back to his teacher. "We experimented a bit. I'd like to know what you think before we continue."

"Evans!" James brightened considerably and held his hand up in greeting. "Don't tell me you're in detention too?"

"I'm not you, Mr. Potter," said Lily haughtily. To the Professor, she explained, "I changed a little in the procedures, but all the ingredients are the same." He gave her a questioning look, and she handed him the instruction sheet, with various annotations that Severus had scribbled in. "I tried to adjust the potion to make it last longer. But do you think it would have other effects?"

Severus watched Slughorn as he sat down at his desk to examine the list. In his own mind, there were undoubtedly some effects that he and Lily wouldn't have counted on. But of the three of them, only Slughorn had enough experience to be able to say what they were.

He heard a snicker and glanced behind him. James and Sirius were sitting at a desk at the back of the room, whispering together and laughing. Sirius caught him watching them and waved. He immediately looked away, and could hear them both laugh a little louder.

Slughorn came back and handed the list to Lily. "Well, Miss Evans, these adjustments will certainly make the potion more long-lasting. In fact, if you do this final step alternating clockwise and then counter-clockwise stirs, I believe you could make the potion's effects permanent."

Severus' jaw dropped. Lily beamed. "Thank you, sir! That had occurred to me, but I'm glad you could confirm it."

"I wasn't quite finished," Slughorn's expression looked hesitant. "I cannot be sure that the potion's active time is the only thing you've changed. Potions are very tricky that way. So my advice is to be very careful on this last step. I take it you have an idea of what you want to see, yes?" Lily nodded. "That image is most important during the final phase of the brewing. Do not let it waver, do not let yourself be distracted from that idea. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir."

"Good." Slughorn smiled, reassured. "I trust your judgment, Miss Evans. Also," he glanced behind him to look at James and Sirius, who seemed to have started a game of Exploding Snap. "Those two have detention this evening until nine. If they will distract you here, I can send them to scrub out my store room instead."

Severus pictured James kneeling on the grimy floor of the store room, moaning over the filth on his robes, and smiled to himself. By the look in her eye, Lily was obviously envisioning something similar, but she shook her head. "That won't be necessary, Sir. Thank you."

Severus blinked in surprise, but said nothing. He bent his head over the potion, watching the fluid slowly coax itself around the cauldron. He vaguely heard Slughorn speaking behind him to the miscreants. "Two hundred lines, 'I will not disrupt my professor's class.' And you will get these back at nine." He snatched up their cards and put the deck in his pocket.

"Sev," Lily tapped his shoulder. "Can you hand me the ladle?"

XX

They worked diligently for an hour or so in silence. Lily was so focused on her stirring that her sleeve caught on the silver knife and knocked it to the floor. Severus stumbled a bit to catch it, and heard soft clapping behind him. James and Sirius were beaming, long finished with their lines, and now just sitting there, whispering to each other. Severus flushed and shoved the knife in his pocket.

"Professor?"

Everyone except Lily glanced toward the door as a boy appeared in the doorway. Severus recognized him as the Fourth Year Regulus Black. The boy nodded towards him, and to his brother Sirius, before approaching Professor Slughorn at his desk. "Professor McGonagall asked to see you, Professor. She said it's urgent."

Slughorn raised his brows in surprise, then glanced at Severus, who looked at Lily, who had her face so close to the potion they could see her reflection. "Do you two still need my assistance at all?" When Severus shook his head, Slughorn smiled and followed Regulus out, dropping James' and Sirius' card deck in front of them as he passed.

As soon as he was gone, Sirius put his feet up on the desk and swooped up the cards. "Well, that's benevolent of him, isn't it?" he said in a loud voice, "But couldn't he at least dismiss us too, before he left?"

"Must have slipped his mind, Padfoot." James glanced down at his watch. "Like the time. We've still got five minutes."

Severus heard Sirius groan loudly as he turned back to Lily. She was standing now, beckoning him to come closer. "I think it's almost done!"

He rushed forward and stared into the potion, which had become as clear as water, but gave off flecks of brilliant silver. The mixture swirled and gleamed, and Severus' face broke into a broad smile. "It's beautiful," he murmured.

"I just need to add a fraction of dragon claw, and then I can look." Lily moved closer, her long red hair flowed down off her shoulder. She bit her lip slightly, watching the liquid as if transfixed. "Interesting," she said, almost to herself. "It looks a lot like Galadriel's mirror."

"What?"

Lily smiled. "Never mind. So, you'll monitor the potion while I prepare the claw, all right?" Severus nodded, still confused about the reference.

The classroom door opened again and they looked up. Severus' eyes darkened as he recognized Remus Lupin, who, he remembered, was a Gryffindor prefect.

"Evans, Snape." Remus halfheartedly lifted his hand in greeting and cautiously moved forward to where his friends sat. "Sirius, James. Professor Slughorn was caught up in something, so he told me to tell you you're dismissed."

"Perfect!" Sirius sprang up and started gathering his and James' affects. "Come on, P-- Prongs? Where'd you--?"

"'Ello, Evans."

Severus hadn't even seen James come up behind them. The boy had sidled up to Lily, who was now grinding the claw with a mortar and pestle, and leaned very close to her ear. The spoon in Severus' hand snapped in half and he heard a faint simmering noise.

XX

"I really don't get it," Sirius sighed as he dropped the bags and folded his arms. "I mean, nothing against Evans, but when any girl in the school would give her own wand to be his girlfriend, why bother with the one that doesn't?"

"I think it's part of the appeal," Remus replied dryly. He flipped open one of the school bags. "Do you often carry all of your textbooks at once?"

"We didn't have much off-time today." Sirius laughed as he watched James' futile attempts to even make conversation with Lily. Not that he liked watching his friend get shot down, but the look on Snape's face was priceless.

Sirius stopped smiling. The classroom suddenly felt very chill. Not cold as in wintry, but it felt like all the heat had flowed out the door in the space of a second. Neither Evans, James, or Snape seemed to notice, but he looked at Remus, whose expression was just as bemused.

"Do you feel that?"

"Potter, honestly!" Lily's voice was raised. "Don't bother me right now!"

"I'm bothering you? I'm sorry." James withdrew a bit and she turned back to the bowl. He took a glance at the parchment of instructions. "'Liquid Looking Glass'? Is that as unimpressive as it sounds?"

"Ai Iluvatar!" Lily whirled around to look him in the eyes and Sirius saw her dump the whole pestle of dragon claw into the glowing mixture. "Potter, I have to concentrate! And if you mess this potion up for me--"

"Lily!"

Snape was staring in horror at Lily's mixture, which was sloshing and foaming violently. The ceiling above was washed with sky blue and silver lights flickered everywhere, almost blinding in their brightness. The entire potion vaporized and everything vanished in the mist. Sirius felt Remus' hand grab at his wrist and pull him out of the door, heard Lily's voice from a distance urging them to get out, heard James yell something, but it sounded so far away. Then the stone floor beneath him was gone, and everything seemed to fall.

XX

Severus stopped in his tracks, nearly pulling Lily off her feet. The mist had cleared in an instant, but it did not reveal Slughorn's classroom. They were surrounded by towering old trees, and leaves dropped from long gnarled branches. The wan light gave everything a lurid hue; the air felt stifling and cold.

"Is this... the Forbidden Forest?" He'd never actually been there, so it was hard to be sure. But this was certainly how the rumors described it. Maybe even more so. Deliberately unfriendly.

"I hope so," he heard Lily whisper. She had her hand on her forehead and was turning slowly, taking everything in. Severus saw her eyes grow wider with every step.

She suddenly leapt forward and scooped up one of their school bags, almost buried under leaves. Severus knelt down beside her and found the instruction parchment, their other school bag, Lily's mortal and pestle, and the overturned silver bowl which had, up until that moment, contained the potion.

Lily groaned softly as Severus picked up the bowl and examined it. Completely dry, with no traces of any of the mixture left. The potion had been used up and had vanished as completely as though it had never existed. He handed the bowl to Lily, who clutched the rim as she struggled to find words.

"Somehow," she murmured, "I think I buggered it up."

"I think so, too," Severus admitted as he folded and pocketed the instructions. There was no point in lying to comfort her. This was not what they'd been trying to do. "Either way, we should find our way out of here." She took his hand and shoved the bowl into her bag, then shouldered it. Severus took the other and took out his wand.

"Point me." The wand whipped off to the left, North. "The Forest is west of the castle, right? So let's go this way."

XX

"Hallo? Anyone here?"

James looked in every directed, and found nothing but giant looming trees. As soon as the potion reacted he'd grabbed Lily and sprinted for the door, but she'd fallen out of his grip and he'd found himself alone. How alone? Where in the hell was he? This couldn't be the Forbidden Forest - he'd spent enough time there to prove that. The gloom here was different, difficult to describe. Tangible. Like the very trees were hostile. James suppressed a shiver as he crept over a thick root.

He heard a voice echoing over a rise. He sprinted over the hill and through the trees almost without thinking, fixed on finding the source of that voice.

"James! Evans!"

"Moony!" It was him! James leaped over a fallen log and slipped down an embankment to land facedown on the ground. The first thing he saw as he raised his throbbing head was a giant lowering willow tree, balanced precariously above a shallow streambed. He saw Remus and Sirius beneath it. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, we're right dandy." Sirius was sitting on one of the willow's massive roots, soaking wet and massaging his ankle. "Considering we landed in that stream there and nearly broke our necks." Sirius shook his head like a dog and James grinned at the familiar gesture.

"Did Evans or Snape tell you what that potion was?" asked Remus. He was also soaked and had a few leaves stuck in his hair. "I think that's what landed us here." He looked around and added, "Wherever here is."

"It was called a Liquid Looking Glass." James soured as he thought back to his latest defeat. "I didn't get the impression it was supposed to do this, thought." He looked around at the trees, one of which gave an ominous creak. "It's not the Forbidden Forest, is it?"

Remus and Sirius both shook their heads. James sat down next to them and considered their best course of action. It was getting visibly darker, and cold. He wondered vaguely whether Evans and Snape had landed somewhere nearby, and whether Lily was angry. She'd probably been serious when she said he was distracting her.

James blinked and shook his head. Why was he suddenly so tired?

"Sun's set. We should probably find a road or something," Remus said. He stood and looked around, squinting in the growing dark.

"Maybe we should stay here instead," Sirius countered. The other two looked at him and he shrugged. "What? It's not the Forest, so we have no idea what's out here. And it's too late and too dark to try moving now. We'll fall off a cliff or something. We should probably just make camp for tonight and try in the morning."

"Sirius, shouldn't we at least find out where we are first?" Remus glanced at James for support. "I mean, since we don't know what's out here, shouldn't we explore a little, find out what's here, and then find adequate cover?"

James had to admit that a rest sounded very good right now, but Remus had a valid point. A nagging doubt finally brought him to his feet. He lit his wand and turned around. "Come on, Padfoot. Let's see what we can find."

Sirius seemed not to have heard him, but instead had changed to dog form and curled up at the base of the tree. James frowned in indignation.

"Padfoot."

Remus suddenly gripped his arm. "James!"

James looked up quickly, raising his wand. Several of the willow's thin branches were snaking down toward them as the root under Sirius started to move.

XX

Lily sighed as she picked another snagging thorn out of her robes. The trees were growing thicker with every step, obscuring their path and pushing them in every direction they didn't want to go. They picked their way gingerly, avoiding the trees that seemed more sinister, but even with their caution, their cloaks were caught in branches too often for either's liking.

"Do you think using incendio could make a difference here?" Severus asked. His tone was calm, but Lily could tell he was getting frustrated.

"Let's not risk it, she answered. Who knew what would happen? She yelped as another tree root knocked her feet out from under her, and prayed that her mounting suspicions were wrong. Please let us be lost in the English countryside. Please don't let us be where I think we are...

"Lily, do you hear that?"

Shouting voices. They took off in the direction of the noise, but the trees cut them off, heaving their branches across the path. They pushed and shoved but the thick wood was solid as stone and wouldn't budge.

"They're consciously blocking the way!" Severus murmured in astonishment. The light from his wand-tip was shaking slightly.

"Please let us through!" Lily called to the trees in desperation. "We mean you no harm! We only want to pass through! Do you understand? Please!"

"Lily!" She felt Severus yank her backwards just as one large, claw-like branch fell from the treetops onto the spot she'd been standing a second before. The branch crackled as it tightened into a fist and ascended back among the leaves. She swallowed hard, thinking. What do you do if you can't negotiate with a tree?

"I wonder..." Severus helped her into a standing position and stared up into the lowering foliage. "Remember the charm Shreck taught us a few weeks ago?"

She blinked. "The Patronus?"

This year's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was Professor Shreck, a researcher of Dark creatures and artifacts. Instead of spending the year reviewing basic spells for OWLs, like most of the other teachers, Professor Shreck had assembled a curriculum of advancing defensive magic, reasoning that if the students could pass his class, the OWLs would be a doss. Not the most popular teachers of the year, but Lily enjoyed the challenge immensely.

This was hardly the time to bring up classes. "What about it?"

"If you can conjure one, I think it would help right now."

XX

Fire shot from James' wand and smoldered several of the willow's leafy tendrils. Sirius let out another yell of pain as the tree roots clamped more tightly on him, despite Remus' attempts to pry them open. Blood was flowing freely down his arm, where the willow's vine had grabbed him. He'd only just had time to cut himself free before James pulled out his wand.

"Prongs, stop burning the bloody tree! Stop!"

The flames immediately vanished as James jumped back to avoid the tree's tendrils. "The knot!" he suddenly exclaimed as he dived around to the other side of the tree. "Find its secret knot!"

"This is a Whomping Willow?" Remus muttered in disbelief. He tried Relashio on the roots again and Sirius gasped as the roots dug into his rib cage. "Secret knot! Right!" Remus looked around wildly for a knot on the tree. "Hang on, Sirius!"

"There's no bloody knot!" he heard James shout, then heard what sounded like a whip crack and a cry of pain. Remus looked around for James but didn't dare leave Sirius' side. He tried every spell he could think of on the root, but to no avail. Sirius' struggling became weaker as Remus used a Severing Charm on another tendril snaking around his middle. It was getting harder to move. He almost could hear the tree's anger, if that voice wasn't the onset of delirium. There was another voice, too, but it wasn't coming from the tree. It was coming from the same direction as a shining white light...

And suddenly the tree relaxed. The tendrils drooped, lifeless, as the tree straightened itself up to its natural posture. The roots opened and Sirius scrambled out, shaking and gasping, his robes torn and slightly bloody. Remus jumped forward and grabbed his shoulder before he collapsed. "Are you all right?"

"What the bloody hell was that?" he shuddered. Remus patted him awkwardly, not knowing how to answer. They both looked up at the sound of footsteps on the grass.

"Are you three all okay?"

"Evans!" James slipped on the wet leaves as he came out from behind the willow, being careful not to touch its roots. He wiped at the bloody gash on his cheek. "So you are here."

"That's a relief," Remus admitted as he pulled Sirius up to stand. "Now we'll at least--"

He saw Snape come down the slope behind Evans, looking more sour and pale that usual in the feeble wand light. Remus felt James come up behind him, and the five settled into an uneasy silence, watching each other and waiting.

He knew James and Sirius were both staring at Snape, as they did every time they saw him. He glared back, clutching his lit wand tightly. Evans was watching the three of them with some hesitancy, probably worried her interruption would provoke a fight. Remus looked skyward for a moment before addressing her.

"Evans, do you know where we are?"

She blinked at him in surprise and considered. "I think it's the Forbidden Forest. Isn't it?"

"No, it's not," replied Sirius.

"How do you know that?" asked Snape.

"Detention," James answered quickly. "Hagrid sometimes needs some help out there."

Not technically a lie, Remus reflected. They all jumped as the willow behind them emitted an irate creak.

"Better question: how do we get out of here?" asked Sirius. He hesitated and gave Evans an awkward nod, "Thank you, by the way."

Evans smiled. "We used the Patronus Charm," she answered, and Remus wondered bitterly why he himself hadn't thought of using that spell.

"Great! Could we use it again?" James sounded chipper, but Remus could see his eyes darting back and forth between the looming trees.

Snape sneered. "What, can't famous Potter cast one himself?" he asked icily.

Fighting was the last thing they needed. Before James could retort, Remus waved his wand. "Expecto Patronum."

His familiar white wolfdog bounded forward, then paused to look back at him expectantly. He saw surprise flit across Lily's and Snape's faces as he turned to look at them. "Which way should we go?"

XX

If they were not in the Forbidden Forest, then there was no longer any reason to head east. Lily sighed heavily and suggest they follow the Four Point Spell North, claiming that they were bound to reach the edge sooner or later. No one else had any desire to challenge this. The bounding Malamute took off down the visibly widening path, Remus close behind, followed by James and Sirius. Severus and Lily hung slightly behind.

"If the fearless heroes have their own way of conjuring a Patronus, then is there any reason for us to stay with them?" Severus muttered.

"Do you honestly care?" Lily shook her head in amazement. "Listen, Sev, we're all stuck out here together. D'you think you can just... swallow your pride until we get out of the forest?" He set his jaw tightly and she gave him an exasperated look. "It is our fault they're here, you know."

He raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"...You're a piece of work, Sev."

He opened his mouth to retort but she trotted ahead out of whispering range. He sighed in disgust and hurried after the others, unable to ignore the way the trees shuddered and creaked as the Patronus passed them.

Soon enough the trees began to thin, and moonlight shone down in brilliant patches. Severus heard James whoop and he threw his eyes to the heavens. Suddenly they were past the trees, staring out at a wide, grassy plain. The Patronus seemed as happy as its master, barking silently and chasing its tail. Remus beamed as they watching it disappear. Sirius said something to James that Severus didn't catch. Lily was out of breath, her bag hanging off the crook of her arm, some wayward leaves in her hair. She glanced back at him and he smiled despite himself. They'd actually managed to get out.

Severus looked around at their surroundings. The moon was high in the sky - it must have been past midnight - but there was no castle in sight. Plain hills rolled off in every direction, with the occasional white spots signaling sheep or some such, but no Hogwarts. Anywhere. The only sign of civilization he could see was a long, wide dirt road, about a hundred paces off. It went east and west, disappearing into the distance in both directions. There were no signs or markers anywhere along it. He didn't try to kid himself that it was the road from Hogsmeade - if it was, it would have been curving around the Lake.

He looked at Lily, who looked at the other three, and they started walking. Maybe they would see something from there.

"So which way should we follow?" mused Sirius as they stood on the road fifteen minutes later. Hills still rolled off in every direction. There was no sign of Hogwarts, or any other castle, or any town, or crossroads, or signs, or any sort of landmark absolutely anywhere. "I mean, I doubt that making camp here would be a good idea, so--"

"Look out!"

Lily grabbed his shoulders and forced him off the path. The other boys followed after, looking around wildly for whatever she had seen.

"Are you mental, Evans? What--"

Severus felt it before he saw it. A sudden chill down his spine. Something was flying up from the eastern path. As it drew nearer, he could make out a black hooded cloak in the wind, and his sense of dread grew as it came closer. Severus' instinct said "Dementor," except when he looked more closely...

Sirius had frozen at the sound of hoofbeats. "A horse?" he whispered.

The cloaked figure was riding a horse, decked out in armor. Severus could even see metal glinting off the rider's hands. It wasn't a dementor, then. But something in his gut told him not to lower his wand.

They watched as the rider cantered to a halt almost on top of them. Severus noticed Lily take a stumbling leap backwards. She looked absolutely terrified. He shifted to put himself between her and the rider, who was now leering down at them from under its hood. It was impossible to see the rider's face in the dark, but under the bright moonlight he thought he could see dark wet stains on the fabric. And the horse's hooves. Severus was just starting to debate whether this rider could be a type of dark faery he'd read about when it suddenly uttered a raspy hiss.

"Shire..! Baggins...!"

Severus felt his mouth drop open slightly. Could that possibly be Parseltongue? Before he could speak, Lily shoved her way past him and stood before the dark rider. Her hands were trembling, but her voice was clear.

"The Bagginses live in Hobbiton. I heard they were headed West."

The rider let cry an ear-splitting screech and kicked his mount. It charged down the road and within a few moments was gone. The four wizards stared after it for a long time, then one by one turned their heads to look at Lily.

She was biting her lower lip, eyes wide and fearful, as though she knew something they didn't, and dreaded it. She turned to the road, running her hand distractedly under her bangs.

"The East Road... that had to be the Old Forest... a Nazgul... Oh my dear god, what the hell did I do?"

"Evans."

James had finally found his voice. She stopped short, and it took a moment for her eyes to focus on him. Severus' blood went cold; she looked on the verge of tears. He saw James step forward to her cautiously, obviously trying hard to not upset her further. "I just have two questions," he said with forced calm. "Where are we, and how do you know?"

The witch sighed heavily and dropped her hands to her sides. "I think I just zapped us into Middle Earth."


	2. Bree

"My family's always been fascinated by magic, even before I came to Hogwarts. I remember Dad would read stories to my sister and me about dragons and sorcerers. One book that always stuck with me was The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien. Massive thing, was published in three parts, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. Anyway, last Christmas I found the books in our attic, and started reading them again in school. So they've been on my mind a lot lately, even when I was working on the potion. So when it finally reacted..."

She saw Severus slap his hand across his face before he could stop himself. Granted, she knew she would have done the same thing, so she bit back the injured remark.

Sirius was sitting cross-legged on the grass, his hand on his chin and his eyes fixed on the dirt road before them. "So you accidentally put us into a Muggle story book?"

Her head jerked with a nervous nod. "Right."

Sirius was silent for a while longer, then suddenly laughed. "Well, if this isn't a reprieve from OWLs, I don't know what is!" He stood and brushed off his robes. "So what do you recommend we do first?"

"Are you truly as stupid as you look?"

She saw all three boys bristle as Severus jumped up. He looked paler than ever and his black eyes flashed with anger, maybe fear.

"The potion we made completely depleted itself in order to get us to this... world. And unless Muggles have more imagination than I give them credit for, half the ingredients we need to remake the potion don't even exist here! Also, it's not a dream-inducer, where the subjects suddenly wake up a few hours later. We really moved into another world, and now we have no way of moving back! If we can't remake the potion, then we can't get home!"

He cottoned on quick. Lily cradled her head in her hands, trying to ignore the sniping that ensued. They were really here. In Middle Earth. Stuck together. And the Nazgul were still hunting around the Shire, meaning that Frodo hadn't made it to Rivendell yet. He and the others were probably on their way now...

"If you hadn't decided to be more of an arse than usual and distract her while she was mixing--"

"How was I supposed to know? She's always like that when she's working."

"And what were you doing, Sniv? Admiring the scenery?"

"You sona--"

"Listen to me."

The boys fell quiet immediately. Lily then took a deep breath and pointed down the road heading East. "If I remember correctly, this is the main road that leads to a village called Bree. It'll be a long walk, but I know there's an inn there. We can get food, and find a place to sleep. From there, we can figure out a way to get home."

None of her companions argued, but she could still see spiteful glares passing between Severus and the others. Lily folded her arms across her chest, and straightened herself to her full height. She almost came square with Remus.

"It's my fault we're stuck here," she began, "but we're all stuck together, and we're going to have to work together if any of us are going to get home alive. Very soon, all of Middle Earth will be at war, so we'll have enough to worry about without fighting each other too. So, please... please, stop provoking each other. Don't hex each other. As long as we're here, we have truce. Agreed?"

She thought she heard something like, "Yes, Mommy," before James elbowed Sirius in the stomach. They both nodded along with Remus. Severus looked like he wanted to argue something, but finally shook his head and gave her a curt nod.

"So, can you tell us a bit more about this place, on the slight chance that we will have to spend a lot of time here?"

Lily gave a grim smile and led them off down the eastern road, wondering where to begin. "Well, the story of the book, in detail, would easily take an hour or two..."

"Are you joking?" James asked, incredulous. "Our textbooks aren't that long!"

Lily broke into a laugh. "Well, Lord of the Rings is a complicated story." She cast her gaze around at the rolling hills of what must have been on the east edge of the Shire, and up to the moon that was not quite full. "And I think it technically begins a few thousand years ago, with the Dark Lord Sauron."

XX

Severus watched the sky as they walked. At about two in the morning it started to rain, then let up some time after four, and the parting clouds were just turning pink with the sunrise as the troop passed through yet another grotto of thin trees. The area was growing more wooded, but all these were harmless, lacking the wrath of the Old Forest. They passed the grotto and paused at the edge of yet another steep downward slope that this main road seemed so fond of traversing. Lily was still explaining the plot of Lord of the Rings.

"So," he asked, trying to catch his breath, "the fate of this world rests in the hand of a hairy, whingey, house elf?"

"A _hobbit_, and he's not whingey!" Lily snapped indignantly. "It's his quest. I mean, disregarding the fact that all hobbits are by nature homebodies - no matter how much the Tooks like adventure and long journeys - Frodo has to go to the most dangerous and terrifying country in Middle Earth, climb to the top of a volcano, and find the will to throw down a ring that during the course of his journey has been eating its way into his soul. He knows he will probably die on the quest, but he's determined to see it through anyway. On the whole," she added after a moment, "I'd say Frodo is very brave."

"Didn't you just say that Frodo was eventually corrupted and decided to take the Ring for himself, and it was in fact the monster Gollum who destroyed the Ring by biting it off Frodo's finger, and accidently falling with the Ring off the cliff into the volcano?"

Lily quirked her mouth in irritation. "Frodo's still brave."

Sirius shrugged. "I still can't believe the ultimate weapon here is a tiny piece of possessed costume jewelry."

Severus rolled his eyes and sat down on a log. It was strange, this book didn't strike him at all as something Lily would enjoy. It was grim. And long and complicated. It certainly wasn't to his taste. Long meandering trek with a self-important, emotionally unstable hero who for some unexplainable reason can never relinquish his task to one of his companions, who are always in different ways leaps and bounds more intelligent and capable. He hoped absently that they would be able to avoid Frodo and his motley crew.

"Oi, look!" James was staring down the road, his hand blocking the sun from his glasses. "Is that it?"

Just peeking over another clump of forest they could see tall planks of wood, held fast together in a wall that could easily defend a castle. To the south and north of the wall Severus spotted ribbons of what could have been more roads stretching into the distance.

Lily's mouth spread into a smile of vast relief, as she picked up her pack again and started sliding her way down the dirt road. "It's not much farther! Just think food and bed, mates!"

XX

"Children? What be your business here in Bree?"

Sirius bristled. What children? Where? Lily brushed her hair out of her eyes and straightened her shoulders, trying to appear an authority.

"We're traveling. We wish to to stay at the inn, and gather some supplies for our journey."

The door warden looked them over again, smiled in bemusement, and pulled open the door. "Mind your way, then, travelers. There's been talk of strange and dangerous folk abroad."

The town was surprisingly busy for that hour of the morning. Sirius dodged a harried-looking man carrying a bleeding goat and glanced back to see if anyone else had noticed. Fearless-Leader Lily was marching fast, looking around for something. Remus tapped her shoulder and asked what the inn was called.

"The one they stay in is called The Prancing Pony."

"Are you joking?"

She laughed. "Its name is odd, but the service is good, I hear." She perked up. "There it is!"

Inside, the inn had a close atmosphere that probably should have felt cozy, but was more like a cave in its own lack of light. Everyone in the tavern seemed to be plotting something. Sirius tucked his book bag under his arm and followed the others to the counter, where a round-faced man was already polishing glass tankards. He must have been the innkeeper - what was his name - Butterbur.

"Hello! And what may I do for you this morning?" he asked. He addressed James, who was standing next to Lily, but looked surprised when she was the one who spoke. He stared at her curiously as she explained their need for a room.

"And if you know of any, we need to find a map, as well as some other supplies."

The innkeeper blinked and addressed James again. "There are some nice rooms available. The largest I have hold four beds, but I can have another one moved in, if you like."

James turned to Lily. "Good idea?"

"It's not necessary," Sirius cut across her. He could easily sleep on the floor. Lily raised a brow, but shrugged and turned back to the keeper. "A four-bed room is fine. We've been out all night, and need to rest for a bit."

"Understood," Butterbur smiled graciously, still staring in bemusement at Lily. "That's two gold pieces for the night."

He could see Lily pale. Money hadn't even occurred to any of them. Sirius exchanged a look with James, who sighed and groped in one of his pockets. Could always count on him to have five or six galleons on hand for emergencies, or to pay someone he owed money to, or if he happened to wander into Zonko's. He plunked two of them down on the counter. "Will these do?"

The keeper picked them up and examined the coins closely. "Never seen coinage such as this. Where are you coming from, lads?"

"We'd rather keep to ourselves," Lily replied a little heatedly. "Can these pay for the room or not?"

The keeper looked a little put out, but took the coins with a nod. "Nob! Come take these guests to their room. Third floor, end of the hall. Come out, slow-coach!"

"Yes, sir!" A young man stumbled out of a door, still blinking with the early morning. Sirius's jaw dropped. He was tiny! Somewhere between three feet and four, but didn't look stunted like Professor Flitwick or the goblins at Gringotts. He was a little, portly, but cheerful man, and moved a quickly as anything. Sirius felt Remus elbow him and he closed his mouth.

The little man's smile was friendly as he led them up the stairs. Sirius leaned close to Lily and whispered, "That's a hobbit?"

"That's a hobbit." Lily's expression could only be called unmitigated glee as she watched the little man bob down the hallway before them. Sirius shook his head and wondered whether she was truly as mental as she sounded at that moment.

The sky was growing brighter outside and flooded their room with warm light. The chamber was airy, with a slanted, wood-paneled ceiling, an old dresser underneath the single window, and two beds on either side of the room, facing the rug on the center walkway. Severus moved down it and pulled the curtains together, throwing the room back into semi-darkness. Lily explained to Nob, "We need sleep at the moment. Could you please wake us a little after noon?"

Nob still had his head tilted as he stared after Severus. "Absolutely, miss. Shall I bring you some food as well?"

"That would be wonderful!" She sent the hobbit on his way and closed the door. Seconds later, she collapsed on the closest bed. "Black, does what you said earlier mean you'll take the floor?"

"It does." He stashed his bag under the dresser along with Remus' and James'. "Actually, I probably need to elaborate on that."

He watched Lily's face as he abruptly shifted to his giant, shaggy canine form, and thought to himself: that look is absolutely priceless.

XX

_We need to explain this now, why?_

James sighed, though he did get some satisfaction at seeing Snape jump about three feet in the air when the bloke next to him suddenly sprouted fur. Remus was sitting on the bed opposite Lily, probably trying to camouflage with the walls. Lily herself seemed at a loss for words.

Sirius changed back as James came to stand next to him. "We're animagi," he explained.

"We only figured out how to perfect it a few months ago." Sirius continued.

"But, as you can see, it works pretty well."

"So I can easily sleep on the floor."

The only word Lily could force out was, "How?"

James shrugged. "Four years independent study," he quipped. Snape was crouched between a bed and the window. God it was funny to watch him squirm. "It'll be useful here, don't you think?"

Lily sat forward, shock being rapidly replaced by interest. "Did Professor McGonnagal help you?"

James and Sirius exchanged a look. "Not intentionally. Otherwise, we'd never be able to do it."

"Of course, because experimenting with transfiguration is so dangerous! How could you even attempt it?"

Sirius shrugged. "Because we're brilliant?"

James glanced at Remus again, who looked like his was torn between running away before Lily noticed him and staying until she noticed him. True, if they continued going on about the animagi, she'd eventually ask why Remus wasn't one...

"Anyway, we should probably get some sleep. We've got five hours, right?"

James sat on the bed near the window as Sirius the dog settled on the rug in the center aisle. He glanced at Remus, who mouthed 'Thanks.' Snape had taken the bed across from him, and was now trying to construct some sort of wall around it. Weird git. Lily still looked shaken, but after a moment, took off her heavy robe. Her hair was still wet from the rain, and glistened slightly as she moved to hang the robe on the bedpost. As an afterthought, she picked up her wand and flicked it at the quilt on the bed. It flew up immediately and wrapped itself around the four bedposts, encasing her in a giant cloth box. Maybe she missed the four-posters in the dorms. Snape had given up trying on his barricade and settled for indignantly burying himself under the covers. They were all too tired to do any more.

XX

At about two-o'-clock Nob returned with a tray heaped high with bread, butter and sweet mead. They ate quickly, in near silence, then discussed their next move.

"Before we do anything, we need to find a map. Middle Earth is huge, and if we just walk in a random direction, we'll never get anywhere."

"There are also other things we should get," Remus added. "Traveling clothes, food."

Lily nodded. "What all have we got with us?"

Everyone dumped out their book bags. Sirius reluctantly started listing off his things. "Eight of my textbooks, a pack of Exploding Snap cards, five galleons, eight sickles, a two-way mirror - James has the other one - my penknife, and a biscuit from dinner."

"My glasses case, six textbooks, er-" James paused and laughed sheepishly, "the Snitch from last Quidditch match, the other mirror, ten galleons, oh, and..." He pulled aside a gauzy cloth that shimmered slightly like water. His mouth spread into a proud grin, "an Invisibility Cloak."

"Did you nick that out of a classroom too?"

"It was my father's," he replied in a cold voice. "He gave it to me when I entered Hogwarts."

"That'll be useful," Lily admitted. "I have... my potions and DADA books, the potions bowl, a mortar and pestle, and of course, my wand."

Remus sighed. "All I have is my wand."

Sirius and James both raised theirs as an afterthought.

Severus laid out, one by one, his potions book, the potions instructions, the silver cutting knife, and twelve sickels. He kept his wand in his hand.

Lily rocked back and forth on the bed, considering. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. She rolled over and grabbed her robe. "First stop, map. Who's coming with me?"

XX

"Hail fair lassie! What 'choo with 'im for? 'E can't be a man o' yourn!"

Severus reached for his wand, but Lily took his wrist and pulled him through the square. "Well, that certainly explains something," he heard her mutter bitterly. She paused beneath a sign outside a small hole-in-the-wall shop which read "Farminde Maps of the World."

"What's with these miserable buggers?" he asked as he looked around at the sound of a wolf-whistle.

"They're drunk," Lily said dismissively. "Come on."

"Most likely," Severus pushed open the door, "but what the hell are they bothering you for?"

Lily sighed and looked heavenward, thinking. "I always did wonder why there were so few women mentioned in the book. I guess it's because most of them are confined to homes. A woman traveling abroad must be rare." Her tone was bitter as she added, "I guess that means I'll have to find some other things before we move on."

Severus didn't ask what she meant. They moved together through the shop, avoiding stacks of papers and boxes of scrolls. Toward the back was a thin man with dark hair, scribbling something on a skein of thick paper. He looked up at their approach.

"How may I help you?"

"I'd like the most detailed map of Middle Earth that you have," started Lily, hesitating slightly, "that covers from the Shire to the edge of Mordor."

To both their great surprise, the man smiled warmly at her. "Traveling, are you? I hope you enjoy it." He chewed his lip as he scanned the shelves of his shop. "Large maps would be this way," he eased himself off his chair and moved towards a large barrel full of scrolls. He moved his hand slowly over the lot before clasping one and yanking it out. "Perhaps this one will do?"

The map was thick like fabric, difficult to tear, and spanned from the edge of the sea west of the Shire down to South Gondor and the very edge of Mordor. Severus recognized some key cities, such as Rivendell and Osgiliath, but had no way of telling how useful the map would be until Lily pointed out the small dot that marked Bree, and the Old Forest about a centimeter west of it. For the first and not the last time, Severus felt an appreciation bordering on horror for the sheer size of this Middle Earth.

Lily was grinning as she rolled up the map. "This will be perfect, thank you."

XX

Remus was lying on his back on the bed, chewing his lip and considering how he'd gotten himself into this mess. James and Sirius were unconscious on the next bed, still exhausted from the night-long walk. He was tired as well, but it was too late in the day to sleep any more. And...

He walked to the window and looked out at the town. People flitted between doors and booths, much like they would in Diagon Alley in August. They didn't seem to pay any heed to the walls, or what they signified, that there was a threat somewhere out there. Remus wondered how long ago the walls had been put up, and why.

This place worried him. The way Lily had described the coming war, he might have thought it just some epic adventure, if she hadn't emphasized every danger in gruesome detail. Didn't she say Bree would be burned to the ground? Well, maybe he was imagining that.

"We're back, Lupin!"

Remus jumped to get the door. "Welcome back, Evans. Snape." They exchanged another awkward nod and his eyes landed on the bags in their arms. "What in the world did you get?"

"Everything I thought we'd need," Lily quipped as she and Severus dumped their parcels on the nearest bed. "Are they sleeping? I shouldn't be surprised. Anyway, bought a great map and extra copies, some clothes - I think we should really keep our robes packed, we want to blend in here - plain traveling cloaks, a lot of waybread, and these." She pulled out five small leather pouches.

"What are those for, knick-nacks?"

Oddly, she was smiling. "There's a spell in the back of The Standard Book of Spells level V called the Undetectable Extension Charm. It can add a huge amount of internal space to whatever container you cast it on, with no weight added. It's easy as anything to carry or conceal."

Remus picked up one of the pouches. It was tough, maybe leather. And if they could cram all their supplies into these...

"Do you know how to work the spell?"

Lily's expression turned sheepish. "Not quite. But we'll test it. Don't worry."

"We should get ready soon," called Severus. He was watching the sky through the window change as the light faded. "And figure out where to go. The less time we spend here, the better."

"I've been thinking about that, actually," Remus said as he put the pouch back down. He addressed Lily, "You said Gandalf the wizard was powerful. Do you think he could help us?"

Lily replied, "It's something to consider," but she didn't look very hopeful.

"Excuse me."

They all looked up to see Nob knocking against the open door. "I thought you should know that dinner is ready. I can bring it up any time you like, or if you prefer, you can sup downstairs with the company. We don't often get travelers from distant parts, and would love to share news, or stories, or the like."

Lily shook her head. "That's kind, but I think we'd prefer to sup here, if it's not too much trouble."

"Oh, no trouble at all!" Nob replied. He glanced toward James and Sirius sleeping on the far bed as he added, "I actually expected that. Your two companions there - begging your pardon - didn't seem the type to walk off a pint that easily."

"Pint?" Lily bolted up and looked round at the two boys. She turned back to the little hobbit, who instinctively stepped back. "Of what?"

"Our E-Eastfarthing Ale, Miss."

Lily's eyes flickered from Nob to Remus, who shook his head vehemently. "I have no idea! I was asleep most of the time, I didn't even hear them leave or come back!"

"None of us should really be surprised," Severus echoed from the window. He pulled out his wand. "Should I wake them, Lily?"

She sighed and ran her hand through her bangs again. "Thank you, Nob," she sighed. "Could you please bring our meal up?" As the hobbit nodded and retreated down the stairs, she pulled out her own wand. "I'll do it."

XX

They could hear the crowd downstairs singing something as they ate their meal in silence. Remus and Nob had pulled out a small round table hidden behind the door, and soon it was laden with cold meats, soup, bread, cheese, even a large blackberry tart. For the first time, James could close his eyes and imagine that he was just back in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, and not in fact lightyears from home, sleep-deprived, slightly hung over, and fighting the urge to scratch the livid Itching Hex Lily had used to wake him up. As he drained his water glass, he watched Remus pull one of the maps out from under his bed and lay it awkwardly across the center of the table. The edge nearest James was hanging precariously over the butter dish. "So, where to now, Evans?"

"I think we'll need to fold these," Lily murmured. "Okay. Well, I told you the book plot earlier, but maybe you should try to forget most of it. I think we should try to avoid Frodo and his group as much as we can."

"Then what the hell did you tell us the story for?" complained Sirius. He'd scratched at the welts on his arm, and was now fighting the urge to itch his hand. The screaming dehydrated headache was also not helping his mood.

"Because I thought you should know," Lily replied, snagging her hand in her bangs. "But now that I think about it, Lord of the Rings is a book. It's already written down. Recorded history, if that makes sense. So if we get involved, and change the course of events in the book-"

"-then we might jeopardize our chances of getting home," Severus finished. "Though it's not like we have much chance anyway."

Lily ignored the last remark. "So I think we should travel on our own, staying well away from the Fellowship. That being the case, I think we all should have more of a general knowledge of Middle Earth. Good plan?"

Remus pointed at a mountain range running down the middle of the map. "Is Moria somewhere along here?"

Lily nodded. "The Misty Mountains. And you can see Rivendell and Lorien on either side of the range, as well as Isengard down on the southern end."

"Who did you say lived there, again? Sour-man?"

"Saruman. The White Wizard who ends up working under Sauron."

Sirius sighed to himself, "Ten to nothing one of us is going to mix those two up. Who lives in Lorien, again?"

Someone knocked at the door. Remus opened it to find another hobbit, blond and barely on level with his elbow. "Evening, friends. Is there anything else you need ere you retire?"

Lily shot Sirius and James a look as though daring them to ask for more ale. Did she think they were truly that stupid? "Could we have some more water, please?" James asked.

When the hobbit had gone, Lily leaned back, indicating them to pay attention. "Okay, general knowledge of Middle Earth," she began. "There are seven races here that we all should know: the Elves, Dwarves, and Men are the three main ones, then Hobbits, Wizards, Orcs and other Mordor denizens, and Ents."

"The Elves are... well, the fair people. Strikingly beautiful, skilled warriors, especially in archery. They love dance, song, good food, wine, etcetera, etcetera. They didn't really strike my fancy. Their main distinction is that they're immortal. Well, they can be killed in battle, but don't age, so don't die 'natural deaths.' They also know certain types of magic. The main Elf areas on this map are Rivendell, Lorien, and Mirkwood, to the northeast.

"The Dwarves prefer to live underground, like under the mountains, and more often than not they earn a living by mining. They're taller than Hobbits, but not by much. They're stocky, usually have beards, and use axes as weapons. At least, Gimli does. In battle he's absolutely terrifying."

Sirius rolled his eyes. Lily cleared her throat and continued. "The race of Man... well, they're essentially humans, with all the powers and vices that implies. Very few know magic, but they're wise enough to recognize its uses. The two biggest countries of Men are Rohan and Gondor, though you can probably find settlements everywhere." She pointed to the floor beneath them, from where they could vaguely hear calls for a new song to start.

"That brings me to Maia, or Wizards, who are very similar to Men, like back home. I think they're actually disciples of the Valar, but I don't think the book ever really said. They live a lot longer than most. They're also the only race that really use any magic like us, though it seems more to control environments than to conjure or curse. They use staffs instead of wands. The only Maia I know of are Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, Sauron, and the Balrog, who's a 'lesser' Maia."

James' eyes were starting to glaze over. Lily took a sip of water and continued.

"Hobbts, as you see, look like very short humans, except for the hair on their feet. They like their comforts and as a race generally keep to themselves in the Shire, but there are some among them who are more adventurous. More often than not, those are from the Took or Brandybuck clans."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Frodo's name is Baggins, right?"

Lily smiled wryly. "He's Brandybuck on his mother's side. And Pippin Took's his cousin, so I think he has some of that blood in him."

Before he could start to wonder if this at all implied inbreeding, James cleared his throat and pointed to Mordor on the map. "What about the Orcs, and other creatures Sauron uses?"

Lily's eyes darkened. "Orcs are Middle Earth's version of goblins. They're slightly shorter than humans, very strong and savage fighters, though I think they prefer sneak attacks. They have problems with sunlight, and I think they tend to stick to underground routes, or just lurk under the cloud in Mordor. What we need to worry about on this side of the mountain range are the Uruk-Hai."

Lily pressed her finger against the southern tip of the Misty Mountains. "The book was never clear on how, but Saruman somehow managed to create a stronger breed of Orc in Isengard. They're taller, faster, even stronger, and can travel during the day. I don't think they'll bother us, their target is Frodo, but they're something to keep an eye out for."

"As are those black riders," Severus reminded her. "What are they, again?"

"The Nine, Nazgul, Ringwraiths. I told you at the beginning, right? Sauron gave three rings to the Elves, seven to the Dwarves, and nine to the human kings." She shrugged. "That's what happened to the kings. Their lives were drained, and now their ghosts are bound to Sauron as his most powerful servants. Well, I'm not sure they're technically ghosts, they're more similar to dementors--"

"We get it," James assured her. Maybe it was the nonchalant way she was saying it, but something about this topic made his blood go cold. He watched Lily count on her fingers and he prompted her: "Ents?"

"Right! They're sentient trees. They - I think - are shepherds for normal trees. Their forests are their flocks, in a way. And apparently an Ent can grow dormant and treeish, while a tree can become more active, like an Ent. Unfortunately, there are few Ents left, because all the females wandered off some time ago." She started smiling as she spoke, and now just stared absently down at the map, probably at Fangar, or whatever it was called. "I think the Ents were my favorite part of the book. The Ents and the Hobbits."

XX

Severus watched Lily's face as she described the beings of Middle Earth. Even before, while they trudged down the East Road to Bree, there was laughter, intensity, even affection in her looks and words. She really loved this world, what she knew of it, anyway. He leaned back slightly, fighting down his unease, and glanced at the potion instructions hidden in his hand under the table. If by chance they could locate a unicorn and help it die, so as to use parts of it without being cursed, as well as find everything else on that list, maybe _he_ should mix the potion next time.

"Back to the main question," he said, "Where should we go from here? Do you think someone here could help us, or could we actually find everything we need for the potion?"

He didn't mean to sound so sardonic. Lily looked stonily at him, then down at the map.

"The only people I can think of that would have the power are the wizards or the elves. Elrond in Rivendell, Galadriel in Lorien, Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, and Sauron. Actually I think Gandalf's in Rivendell right now, so our best bet would be to take the main road there. If that fails, we could plead neutrality and go south to Saruman, but it would be dangerous to tangle with him. He'd either completely ignore us, or make us work for him in the war. Galadriel's magic... is actually very similar to the potion we made, in looks, so that may work. Mordor's certainly out of the question. Maybe Radagast the Brown could tell us something, but I don't know enough about him to be sure."

Lily leaned back in her chair, having lapsed into musing to herself, rather than communicating. "Now that I think of it, Gandalf's probably the only one who would believe us."

"So make for Rivendell?"

"But wouldn't that mean not avoiding the hobbits like you wanted to?"

She considered. "Well, Aragorn takes the hobbits on a roundabout route to Rivendell. If we take the main road and get there before them, we might be able to consult Gandalf and move on without ever crossing paths with them." She was met with skeptical stares. "Well, can you think of anything better?"

A new song floated up from the floor below, something about a small inn and a cat. Severus rested his head on his palm, refusing to add his misgivings. From everything Lily had said, Gandalf was their best bet. He looked up as Lupin walked over to the window. Lupin, who hid in a tunnel under the Whomping Willow during every full moon. Lupin, whose best friends had become animagi while he apparently had not. Lupin was looking out the window now, straight ahead toward the skyline. His face was etched with misgivings, but he kept silent while Lily took out the pouches to start experimenting. Severus could see pale moonlight on his face. Shite.

Suddenly there was a commotion from downstairs. Lily bolted out of her chair and went to the door. Severus rose to follow, but James beat him to it. She opened it and listened for a moment, then closed it again and walked slowly past James back to the table.

"Damn! That was Frodo singing downstairs. We have to hurry." She threw herself down into her chair and poked her wand into one of the little bags. "We set out tomorrow, and if we're lucky, we'll reach Rivendell in two or three days. There's a washroom behind the door there, if you want to get cleaned up. And change your clothes."

"Great," Sirius muttered, rubbing his forehead. "I think I'm spending time in dog-form this time." Remus tapped him on the shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Sirius looked at his friend, then nodded. "Evans, we'll be back in a minute."

"Where are you going?" She was still angry about the ale.

Remus smiled uneasily. "Not to the bar, and nowhere near Frodo. I - er - just need some fresh air. I'm not feeling very well right now. I'm sorry."

_Oh, horseshite_, thought Severus. But Lily's eyes softened and she nodded. For all she knew, he was just sickly. Remus thanked her and pulled Sirius out the door. James watched them leave and then sat back, looking slightly sullen. He picked up one of the bags and tried to read the incantation from Lily's open Charms textbook.


	3. Trek

"Okay, Moony, what's wrong?" Sirius asked once they'd gotten past the crowded company and were standing in a small nook near the inn doorway. His head ache would never go away at this rate. "I told you earlier, you've still got almost three weeks until the next moon."

"No, I don't!" Remus whispered. He turned Sirius around and pointed to the night sky, where the moon was hanging luminous and just shy of full. "Look at that!"

Sirius blinked. "I thought it would have waned more than that..."

"It's not waning, you git! That's waxing!" Remus hissed. He sounded almost hysterical. "Didn't you notice it last night? It's bigger now! I've got two days!"

"All right, all right," Sirius put his hands on Remus' shoulders. "Well, can you be sure it's only two?"

"Who knows the lunar cycle better than me?" Remus snapped. "That moon is two days from full, if that. And when it gets full... Sirius, what am I going to do?"

"It'll be fine!" Sirius insisted, though in his mind he was starting to wonder the same thing. He took a deep breath and smiled.

"You're too dependent on the Willow, Moony. There are plenty of places to hide, at least for a little while. And Prongs and I can stay with you. We know that now. We'll just hide out together, and then continue on when you turn back."

"What about Snape and Evans?" Remus asked hesitantly. "What do we tell them when we can't go anywhere for two days?"

"Well, we don't really need to stay put for two days, as long as we keep away from people--"

"Are you mental?" demanded Remus. "Of course I need to stay put! I can't depend on being with other animals to keep me calm. I could get away from you and attack someone! We don't know this place like we do Hogwarts, there could be people anywhere on the countryside!"

"Don't worry! We'll steer you clear of it!"

Remus glared at him angrily. "Like you did last week?"

Sirius grimaced and looked away. "The git did deserve it."

"What about me, you bastard! Did I deserve to kill him?"

A young hobbit nearby jumped at the sound of the outburst. Remus gave him an apologetic look and tried to move them to a more secluded spot. Before he could speak again, Sirius help up his hands in a surrendering gesture.

"Look, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. Again," he added, anticipating Remus' retort. "But it worked out all right."

"James went to the hospital wing!"

"It still worked out all right," he insisted. "And it's past. And I won't..." He didn't bother continuing, the way Remus was still glaring at him. "How did you know, anyway? James said he didn't tell you."

"He didn't. Dumbledore did." Remus glanced away, focusing intently on the woodgrain of the wall beside him. "He called me to his office as soon as I'd changed back. He'd already talked with Snape, and then with James. He told me everything he knew about what happened, because 'it was only fair,' he said." Remus looked up at him as he added, "He asked me whether you should have been expelled."

Sirius felt something cold fall in the pit of his stomach. Dumbledore had spoken with him that same day, making his only punishment Saturday detentions for three months. He'd complained about the sentence at the time, but if what Remus said was true...

"Thank you," he said before he could think about it. Remus gave a shaky laugh and put his hand over his eyes.

"Don't thank me, Padfoot. I was very, very tempted."

Sirius laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Back to your first question," he said as he looked up at the moon, "Let's see what Prongs thinks, then decide. Evans knows this world best. Maybe we can trust her."

Remus nodded. "She might know some pit I can stay in."

Sirius wasn't sure whether he was joking or not. "And as for Snape," he couldn't really hide the disdain in his voice, "we can deal with him."

They started making their way back to the Prancing Pony, but nearly stumbled over a tiny hobbit coming from the opposite direction, running as fast as he could toward the same inn.

"I'm truly sorry," the little man apologized hurriedly, and in his second's pause, Sirius saw it was the same hobbit whom Remus had startled earlier. His face was pale, framed by golden brown hair. The hobbit recognized them too, and he gave Remus an especially apprehensive look before scurrying off again. As he disappeared inside the Prancing Pony, Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance.

"Do you think that's--"

"I hope not."

By the time they entered the inn the little hobbit had disappeared, along with much of the evening's crowd. Remus glanced again at Sirius, who shrugged and headed silently back up to their room.

XX

It was very late when they finally had a chance to talk to James in private. The three were hiding from Lily and Severus in the washroom, a cramped little chamber with two large wooden tubs taking up half the floor space. They sat on the floor under the window and spoke in whispers.

"So the furry little problem's returned," James said as he glanced toward the bright night sky. "I thought at much, but I guess 'keeping quiet and hoping it goes away' never works, eh?"

"Tah, mate." Remus sighed and took another piece of meat from the very cold dinner plate he'd brought with him.

"Sorry, Moony."

"Think Evans would go off her head?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know," answered James. "She seems pretty calm, in general. I mean, she handled us changing well enough."

"Yeah, because you can at least refrain from ripping her throat out." Remus muttered bitterly.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Moony, you're our best mate, but could you please stop wallowing in self pity for a moment? We need to think this through."

James nodded. "Because the more serious question..."

Was what to do with Snape. The three looked at each other uneasily. None of them were completely sure of how much Snape already knew, but it was a grim prospect to arm their worst enemy with this dangerous secret. Of course, if he already knew, he had had an entire week to tell every single Slytherin in the school. The fact that he had not yet done any such thing was truly rather heartening.

Remus sighed and set his plate down. "I say tell them both."

James stared at him. "Are you sure, Moo--"

"As Lily said earlier, all of us need to work together to get out of here," Remus explained, staring down at his knee. "She's smart, and as far as I know her, she's always been kind. I guess we're just testing the limits on that."

XX

Lily spent several candles working that night, but after three hours of eating ink bottles, changing colors, and at one point belching purple flames, the pouches were finally able to hold one hundred times their natural capacity. She was ecstatic.

"It worked! I can't believe it worked!"

"Evans, it's after midnight! Why are you conscious?"

Severus was rubbing his eyes open as Lily flopped down next to his bed and held one of the pouches under his nose. Her hair was awry, but her eyes shone with energy and pride. It occurred to him that he was sitting in his old, graying undershirt, and was unsure whether to feel embarrassed or relieved. Face reddening slightly, he took the bag and look inside; it looked like a factory storage shed.

"Right star of a charm," he murmured. "Well done, Lily! You're right, we could pack everything into these. Into just one of these!"

"Could the celebrations wait until the sun's up?" James was scowling at them from beside his bed, arms folded across his chest. Severus glared back and Lily's eyes darkened as she stood.

"Excuse me. To think I woke you up. After all, you were sleeping so peacefully. I was only working. Alone. For hours. On a spell that is vital to our upcoming trip. But you must be so tired. And hung over. I'm so sorry."

She had moved back to her bed and started shoving random items into her pouch, each one landing with an oddly sonorous clang. James sat back down, visibly cowed. He looked to Sirius, but his friend just shrugged sympathetically. Lupin was feigning sleep, hiding until it blew over, as usual. This was so stupid.

Severus found his robe, climbed out of bed and tapped Lily on the shoulder. He handed her the other bag as he asked, "What can I do?"

"You can go back to sleep," she answered without looking at him. She glanced back at the other three and lowered her voice to a whisper. "I wasn't implying against you, Sev. You helped enough earlier."

Right, by making one of the pouches sprout metal teeth. "General Charms aren't my strength," he sighed, leaning against the wall. He saw James glaring stonily at him, but pointedly ignored him. He kept his voice low. "I'm sorry I couldn't help."

"Don't worry, it's a one-person task anyway," Lily responded. She flashed him a quick smile. Get some rest, Sev. We'll be getting up fairly early."

"How early?" called Sirius from the opposite corner of the room. Severus flushed brick red. They could hear them.

"Sun-up, if we can," Lily answered, similarly annoyed. "We need to change clothes and pack. Also, I think Frodo and the others are leaving fairly early. I want to wait until they're gone before setting out."

Severus' brow furrowed in bemusement. "Wouldn't it make more sense to leave before them?"

Lily shrugged. "I'd like to, but I don't remember when exactly they left Bree in the book. It may have been as late as noon, but I think watching and waiting would be better, under the circumstances. I don't--"

Suddenly they heard a terrible shriek from outside. Severus instinctively dropped to the floor, pulling Lily with him. The others also bolted out of bed; James edged over to the window and cautiously looked out.

"What was that?" Remus stared at Lily, eyes wide.

"The Nazgul attacking Frodo's room," Lily answered. Her eyes were fixed to the window, unfocused as she searched her memory. "I think they just discovered the decoy Nob made. At least, I hope." She struggled to her feet. "At least we don't need any ponies for our trip. The Nazgul scare them all off tonight, and the only one left in Bree is old Bill, who becomes Sam's."

Severus followed her to the window. Standing beside James they scanning the entire square, searching for the smallest trace of cloak or armored boot. But the town streets were awash with moonlight, and utterly empty. But Severus could almost sense the dreadful creatures' presence, knew that they were somewhere nearby. Most likely in the hobbits' room, which must have been right beneath them.

The same thought must have occurred to James. "Do you think, maybe, we should try to take them now?"

Lily stared at him for a full ten seconds, before shoving him back away from the window.

"Are you mad? What in the name of Merlin for?" she hissed.

"Well, why not? It'd solve a lot of problems for--"

"Listen to me," she cut across him, holding her wand under his nose. "I'll give you three reasons why not. One, because in the book, the Nazgul are a constant presence and danger to Frodo and the others. They get their comeuppance eventually, but if you kill any of them off, the story will be changed, and we won't get home."

"Can you really be sure--"

"Second, the Nazgul don't even know we're here. They are not targeting any of us right now, and I'd like to keep it that way because, three, there's very little chance that you can kill a Nazgul. I don't think even the Killing Curse would work, and frankly, I don't think we can afford to experiment, either."

James held up his hands. "You don't need to panic, Evans, it was just a suggestion!"

"This is not panicking. This is making you aware that suggestions like that are just the kind that will get us all killed!"

They all jumped as another screeching moan rent the air, followed by the faint galloping of hooves. Lily's shoulders slumped and Severus saw her glance at her bed with what looked like yearning. For the first time that night, she was showing her exhaustion.

"If they're gone, we should go back to sleep," she said. "We'll have a lot to do come morning, and it's already very late."

"That's an understatement," Sirius commented. But there was humor in his tone.

Without another word, they all climbed back into their beds and started pulling up the covers. With luck, they'd still get a decent amount of sleep before the sun came up. Severus glanced at Lily. She was just sitting on her bed, looking in the direction of her companions as they settled in, but not focused on any of them. Her face was indignant, malcontent. She ran her hand through her bangs again, as though debating something.

"I'm not panicking," she said at last. Her voice was so quiet, Severus could hardly make out her words. Severus sat up slightly, trying to hear better. "I'm not panicked, it's just... God, I hope I know what we're getting into...!"

"Lily."

She glanced up, her eyes slightly moist. "Sev?"

Severus' mind went blank. He didn't know what made him speak to her, or what in the world he could say. Merlin's pants, it was horrible when she cried. He gulped and glanced towards the other three boys; they were already lying like sacks, breathing softly and evenly. Bloody wankers, the lot of them. He looked back at Lily, who still stared at him, waiting. He took a deep breath.

"I think you're right."

She blinked. "About what?"

"Everything. What we should do, what to look out for, I--"

Dear god, stop! You sound like an idiot!

Severus sighed and put his hands over his eyes, trying to sort out what exactly he meant. He heard a soft chuckle and took out his wand.

"Muffliato!" he hissed before turning back to Lily. She was still watching him, her eyebrows raised high, as though wondering what he'd do next. Severus sighed and put his wand back down.

"You don't sound panicked," he said simply. It was the best he could think of. He heard Lily laugh slightly.

"I'm touched, Sev," she answered. He heard a trace of the sarcasm she'd used against Potter, but her voice was warmer, and her eyes showed her appreciation. She pulled back the covers on her bed and climbed in, and Severus only remembered at the last second to not watch as she took off her robe. "First one awake gets the rest of us up, all right?"

"Of course," he answered. He took a chance to glance over at her one last time, and as she leaned forward to blow out the candle on the table, he had a glimpse of her lean silhouette, in a soft undershirt, her hair tinted like fire in the light. Then it was gone.

His face burned as he rolled over to face the window, and his eyes landed on the patch of bright moonlight on the floor. In a second his mind's eye flashed back to Lupin, standing in that same spot while looking out the window. Severus swallowed again and groped silently for his wand on the mattress beside him. They would have a lot to do, come morning.

XX

The next morning they woke to find, not Nob, but a lively little halfling woman laying out dishes on their table. She had a cute round face and large brown eyes, and gossiped like there was no tomorrow. From her they heard all about the missing ponies, and the general interest that Frodo had inspired in the Breelanders, after his vanishing act the night before.

"And then he just vanished right off the table. But they didn't find him on the floor, then, did 'ey?"

"I have no idea," Sirius answered blandly. Honestly, she prattled like the Jorkins girl from Hufflepuff. There was no choice but to feign ignorance about Frodo and hope that eventually the hobbit woman would go away.

"Right, they didn't find 'im! Barley was right surprised to have that happen! We haven't had a guest create such a stir as that since--"

"Sorry to interrupt, but what's in this?" James indicated the plate of thick liquid from which he was eating.

"It's porridge, Sir. With flavors mixed in. Cinnamon and a dash of honey, with a tiny bit of mint from the garden." She lowered her head slightly as she asked, "Is it not to your taste?"

James laughed. "No, it is! That's why I asked."

Sirius rolled his eyes as the hobbit beamed and started regaling James with the history of porridge in Bree. He knocked lightly on the door to the washroom. "Evans, are you alive in there?"

"I'm busy!" she called, rather out of temper. "I'll be out in a minute."

She'd said that twenty minutes ago. Girls spent an extraordinary amount of time preening themselves, but they did it for the sake of looking pretty, and god help you if you complained. He'd learned that while dating Erin. And Kendrah. And Susanna. And Ally. He supposed Evans was just like them, in that respect.

A few minutes after James had subtly convinced the hobbit woman to leave, the washroom door opened at last. There was a young man standing in the entry.

Sirius scanned over the apparition. He was dressed in black pants of a tough fabric under knee-high boots, and a light tunic under a gray traveling cloak. His fiery red hair was tied in a tight long braid, which hung over his shoulder, and Sirius could see a faint shadow of beard on the angular jaw.

"Blimey. Who are you and what have you done with Evans?"

The youth's green eyes flickered slightly as he smiled. "Do you think it's convincing?"

"Convincing? What are you dressed like that for? I almost hexed you!"

"That's impressive," Sirius admitted, ignoring James. He gave her a closer inspection. "I didn't think grooming spells were that advanced. Changing your jawline was a nice touch, by the way."

"Thanks," she smiled. She strode to her bed and picked up her bag, which had been packed two hours before. "Maybe you didn't see it," Lily began. "But I was hassled quite a lot yesterday. Don't worry about it," she cut across James before he could speak. "Anyway, I realized that as a women, I would naturally attract attention here, so our journey would go a lot easier and more unnoticed if I traveled as a man." She held up her hands in indifferent helplessness. "Hate to say it, but it's true."

Sirius smiled at her in amazement. And here he thought she'd just been doing her hair. She glanced back at him with a cheeky smile. "So, washroom's free."

XX

As he halted in his morning bustle to hail his late-rising guests, Master Butterbur stopped and stared. The five young Men coming down the stairs had greatly changed since he'd last clapped eyes on them. Their foreign robes had disappeared, they were instead clothed in local garments, thick hooded cloaks and plain tunics of cotton. One of them, presumably the lass, had her hood up, and was looking around nervously as they neared the bar door. They also seemed to have shed those cumbersome bags they'd arrived with. Where were they off to, he wondered?

"Went to the merchant off the high street, eh?" he asked as one of the lads approached the counter, the one with the strange devise on his face."Well, don't feel that she's robbed you. I know she charges a pretty penny, but she's fitted you all well. And those cloaks will surely be a blessing in the days to come. The winter is brisk and unforgiving in these parts."

"Thanks for the advice," replied the lad as he signed their party off the roster. "Take care, Sir."

"Aye, you too, young Master." He watched as the youth turned to catch up with his departing comrades. Strange folk they were, indeed, he thought as he rested his elbows on the counter. But not sinister. However, as he went back to filling ales for patrons, he couldn't help wondering over them. Where were they going, and what happen before they came there?

That question was going through their minds as well.

XX

Remus felt sick. The sky was cloudy but bright; it couldn't have been later that eleven. He watched Lily march ahead, Snape following closely, and was struck by something: women and men really do walk differently. Lily truly did look like her own twin brother, but there were still some mannerisms and movements that were inherently different from how a bloke would move. Remus wondered why he would suddenly notice such a thing.

Because he liked delaying the inevitable. Right. But better to do it now, before they got too far into the middle of nowhere.

"E-Evans?" he called. She turned around. "How long until we reach Rivendell, again?"

She pulled her copy of the map out of her pouch and examined it. "About five days, I think. Aragorn and the hobbits took about a week, if I remember correctly."

No time to stop, then. He glanced at James and Sirius, both of whom looked uncharacteristically grave. Snape's expression was unreadable, but he looked slightly paler. Remus struggled for an explanation.

"I think I might - er -"

"Are you that sick?" Lily's face showed concern.

"Sick?" Well, that was one way to put it...

"He certainly has a little problem to deal with," James offered.

"Oh, bloody hell!" Snape muttered. He'd gone back to his belligerent scowl. "You need to find a place to be caged, don't you?"

Lily glanced at her friend like one watches the insane, but Remus nodded, staring down at his brown cattle-hide boots. "Just for tonight and tomorrow. I can catch up--"

"We'll catch up." James corrected him. Sirius agreed.

"But what for? 'Caged'? Why--"

Lily froze as something occurred to her, and she turned back to Snape. "You--"

"Told you. Every month at the full moon."

So he did know. Remus nodded, still unable to meet her eyes. "I'm a werewolf."

XX

_Things keep going from bad to worse._

Severus sat on the cobblestone wall that followed the road out of Bree, tearing apart blades of grass and half-listening to Lupin's whining explanation. At least he'd had the nerve to tell them before sunset.

So having animals around calms a werewolf. Never heard that before.

"You mean to tell me you travel the grounds in wolf form?" Lily looked absolutely outraged. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"

"Yes, we do. And we--"

"And you do it anyway!"

"And we take precautions, believe me. Besides, no one's ever out at night. School rules."

"Says the number one school rule-breaker!" Lily glared at Potter. "And what about Hogsmeade?"

"We haven't gone that far yet."

"Yet! You three are unbelievable!"

"Thank you, we try."

Lupin was sitting on the grass, knees pulled toward his chest, probably wondering whether his friends were helping him or not. Judging by Lily's reaction, decidedly not. Severus smirked to himself. Maybe Lily would take what he said a little more seriously next time.

"Do you know of any place I can hide?"

The werewolf had finally cut through the argument. His expression was close to desperate, and Severus could see Lily soften. She sighed and accidently snagged her hand in her braid.

"I can't think of any," she said. "And I don't think we can afford to stop, if we want to get there before Aragorn and the hobbits."

"You don't have to."

"Well, we can't split up!" she exclaimed.

"We'll have to, whether we're moving or not," said Sirius.

Remus nodded. "James and Sirius are fine as animagi, but if you two are anywhere near... it would be dangerous."

Severus wondered optimistically for a moment whether this conversation would result in the wolf valiantly sacrificing his life to guarantee their safety. It would certainly be the Gryffindor thing to do. But he doubted it.

"If we need to split up, we have to have some way of keeping in touch, or at least knowing where we all are."

"We have three copies of the map," offered Severus.

Lily gave him an icy look over her shoulder. "And if we had something to show where we were on the map, that would be useful. But until then--"

"Wait a minute! I actually think we could do that!"

They all turned to look at James, who instinctively straightened his glasses. "It's something we," he gestured to his two friends, "and Peter were talking about a few weeks ago. We wanted to design a map of Hogwarts, something that would help our future generations."

"Of delinquents?"

"Be nice or we won't tell you about the secret passageway behind the crone."

"Anyway," James pressed, "Peter told us that an uncle of his liked to travel a lot, and was working on a diary shaped like a globe, which would eventually trace a line to show the path he'd traveled during his life. It required a whole mess of spells, including a Tracer, which can lock on to a subject's location at any time within a certain field."

Lily's eyes lit as she saw what he was getting at. "Do you know the incantation?"

"I've got it written down!" Sirius reached into his pouch, looked at the bag in bemusement for a second, then reached in further, extending his arm all the way to the shoulder. That spell was incredible. In another moment, he'd yanked out his school bag and dumped it out, spilling a mess of books and papers onto his lap.

"Maybe I should reconsider how I packed," he murmured, and grinned sheepishly as he opened his Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook. Between the last page and the back cover was a small tear of flattened parchment, which he showed to Lily. "Here."

Severus read it over her shoulder. The magic involved in a map trace was rudimentary, but incredibly effective and versatile. "You could focus the map to either show every person in a certain area, or target certain people to locate them anywhere. Which way should we try it?"

"Neither one sounded easier than the other," James supplied. "Maybe we should try the 'certain area' approach. Then we'll know if anyone comes near us."

"The map would look like it was sprayed with something."

"Only in the densely populated areas."

"We've got three maps," said Lily. "If we have time, we should try both and see which works better."

Sirius and Remus worked on the "certain area" map while the other three sat together on the wall with the "target" map. Severus tried to subtly elbow Potter out of the group, but it literally backfired when James countered his toenail jinx with a Stinging Curse to his knee. Lily ended up working alone. It was mid-afternoon when the map finally worked.

"Here we are," Lily said with a flourish. She'd even managed to make each of their dots a different color, which was good because the map scale was too large for the name labels to be legible.

"I wish I knew where we were," Sirius muttered. His and Remus' map was well-done, but looked, as Severus had predicted, like someone had sprayed it with something. Lily pointed her wand at a small cluster of speck outside of Bree, and instantly the five specks were the same colors as her five specks.

She cocked her head as she examined it. "Maybe that's the way to go about it." Soon both copies of the map were sprayed with black dots, except for a small cluster of red, green, blue, dark yellow, and silver. Back to the larger question at hand.

"So where should you go while you're transformed?" Lily mused. She'd calmed down significantly while working on the spells. "Well, the map says there aren't many people on the plains right now, so if you two," she gave Sirius and James a hard look, "can watch this map and steer him away from any danger, then I think we'll be all right. But you'd better steer away from anyone you see on the map!"

James grinned confidently as he pushed the point of her wand away from his face. "We will, Evans. We know how serious it is."

Sirius perked up, "Wait, this has something to do with me?"

James laughed as he reached into the leather pouch around his neck. He fished around for a moment and then brought out something thin and square. "You might want to take this, too." It was his two-way mirror, the twin of Sirius'. "We'll use it to contact you when Remus is back. Keep it safe, okay?"

Lily nodded and tucked it gently into her own bag.

Remus breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "I'm sorry, again," he said to Evans. "Thank you."

She gave him an odd look, some mix of fear and pity lost in a general expression of concern. "It's not your fault," she said at last, handing him the map. "Be- be careful. All of you."

Severus felt a slight wave of nausea. She had to be joking. Let a full-grown werewolf run free across her beloved fantasy-book countryside? Maybe he'd been wrong earlier. Maybe this actually was a dream - an endless, maddening, character-assassinating dream.

"I'll keep the map with me," Sirius was assuring her. "I'll check it, don't worry. I'll check it a lot."

"Should we take your things ahead?"

"Animagi magic allows for that. How do you think we shape-shift and still keep our clothes?" The familiar cocky smile flashed across James' face as he stood up. "You two should start walking now. Keep to the road; we'll stay off it."

Severus nodded, keeping his expression neutral. He saw James glance at him for a fraction of a second. The look in his eye was odd - contempt, which Severus mirrored, but there was also something else this time. Something that looked vaguely like trust.

_Guard her._

It finally clicked, and for a moment, Severus was completely taken aback. Guard her? Lily? Of course he would, but what the hell did Potter have anything to do with that? He flushed and turned around, starting off in the opposite direction. He heard Lily shout some last warnings as she hurried to catch up with him.

XX

Lily green Sirius blue S James red J Remus dark yellow Severus silver

Frodo Sam yellow Pippin Merry Boromir Aragorn Gimli Legolas Gandalf grey

red orange yellow green blue purple gold silver brown grey white

You know what, just make all the major characters some bright color, like silver.

Gold for hobbits, Brown for Dwarves, Light Green for Elves, Silver for Men,


	4. of journeys and First Story Holes

"This is an absolute hames."

Severus turned around to look at her. "What?"

Lily sighed as she quickened her pace. "A hames. A mess. A disaster!"

She saw Severus smile out of the corner of his eye. "Well, I was right--"

"I know! I know you were right! I can't say 'I'm sorry I didn't believe you', but I will at least acknowledge that you were right."

Severus flinched at the outburst. She stopped walking, and they stared at each other for a long moment.

"So what you said last week... Black did..."

Try to kill him. He nodded, his mouth tight.

"Now I'm sorry."

They continued walking. Lily gave a frustrated sigh and again caught her hand in her tied hair.

"I can't believe he was that stupid!" she burst out. She turned around. "If that idiot can pull a prank like that, there's no way we can trust him with Lupin!"

"Wait a minute!" Severus grabbed her arm. "Yeah, it's an absolutely insane thing to do. I agree with that. But personally, I'd rather have them both all the way back there than tripping us up." He looked down and hurriedly took his hand off her.

"We can't let them die," she said.

"The way my luck's going, they'll be absolutely fine." She glared at him, but saw his eyes were fixed on the sky above them. The clouds had cleared, and the sun was sinking low fast. "We'd better hurry up."

The road looked endless from where they stood, one small line dividing a rolling sea of countryside. Occasionally they spotted a small copse of trees in the distance, or a long flat plain, which Lily supposed were part of the Midgewater marshes. The map showed they were making a slight bit of headway against Potter and his friends.

XX

She looked down at the map to see if they were making much headway against Potter and his friends, and stopped abruptly. They were barely out of Bree. Their dots were practically next to the other three dots. She pressed her wand tip to the parchment and focused. The image gradually became larger, zooming in on their location on the map.

"I underestimated the scale," she said in a dead voice. "Did Butterbur or anyone happen to say what the date was?"

Severus searched his memory, but shook his head. "Early October?"

"Earlier than I thought," she agreed. "At this rate, it will take almost two weeks to reach Rivendell."

XX

"If we don't make it in time to catch Gandalf," Severus said after a while, "where should we go next?"

"Ask Elrond," was her automatic response. He was, after all, in the same place.

"And then?"

"Let's just hope we can catch Gandalf."

"How can you even be sure he'd believe us?" he persisted.

"I can't, but he's my best bet. Sev, we've gone over this."

Severus held up his hands. "Right, sorry." They lapsed back into silent marching. He glanced at her again, "Are you sure we're safe on this road?"

"Severus, is there something specific bothering you, or is it just me?"

Severus shut his mouth and walked a little ahead of her. At least the path was clear. She looked skyward for a moment, watching a bird flit back toward the West. "Sev?" she asked after a moment.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I brought you here."

"Sorry that I am here, or sorry that your potion put us here?"

"The latter!" she assured him. "It's my fault, and I'm really sorry--"

"Lily, you've been apologizing for two days," he cut her off. "It's done. And, well..." She noticed his face was redder. "I know I've been complaining, a lot, but it's not because of you, really." he replied. His smile was weak, but it was there. "We're at least together."

She had a hard time interpreting that. "Meaning it's a good thing we can work as a team, and no one's wandering around by themselves, being eaten alive by midges?"

His flush deepened and he looked away. "Exactly!"

She laughed silently to herself. There was the Sev she knew. By God, he was so much easier to talk to by himself. Except when working together, the only times she'd seen him was with his Slytherin friends - if one could call them that. Lily flinched as she recalled the recent incident with Mary MacDonald and Mulciber. Her friend had ended up going to the Hospital Wing to re-attach her fingernails while the bully had gotten off with one Saturday detention. She'd been so furious, and told Severus so the next time she ran into him. They'd gotten into a long fight which they never did resolve, but Lily had rather let the matter die. She had the distinct impression that whatever she said, he would only be half-listening. Maybe she was a coward.

"What's the matter?"

She looked up to see Severus staring at her. "What?"

"You're..." He awkwardly gestured, and she slowly realized her eyes were wet. She rubbed them quickly.

"Wow. How did I not notice that?" she laughed. "Thanks."

He looked utterly confused, but took her hint and continued walking. She chewed her lip.

"Severus," she asked hesitantly. "Why do you hang around with Mulciber and Avery?"

He shot her a wary glance. "Didn't you ask me this a few weeks ago?"

"You never answered."

He shook his head. "Is this the best time?"

"When would be better?" She swallowed a breath. "I mean it, Sev, what do you see in them?"

"Well, what does everyone else see in Potter?" he muttered.

"You played that card last time."

"I- what do you mean what do I see in them? They're my friends."

"They're creepy!"

"Potter's a git, but that hasn't stopped anyone."

"It stopped me," she replied automatically. "Wait. Sev, how does Potter have anything to do with this?" He halted mid-speech and considered, then clamped his mouth shut and stomped off. She sighed. "They really bother you, don't they."

The look on his face scorned her for pointing out something so obvious. True, she had known this since that first day on the Hogwarts Express, but it still amazed her. The sky was getting dark now.

"Is that why we're leaving them back there?" she asked, keeping her voice steady. Severus didn't answer. She sighed at his stubbornness and glanced at the map again. At least they're not still sitting on that wall, she thought.

A violent shriek pierced the air and they both dove to the side of the road. Rolling onto her knees, Lily huddled for a moment, shivering, listening to the echo off the plains. It was strange, she'd never felt that scared before. She tried to move, but her arms were too weak to push her upright. After a long minute, she found the strength to raise her head. The road was clear.

"Think that was Lupin?" she heard Severus ask. His voice shook almost imperceptibly, but was still calmer than she could manage. She looked to the sky.

"The moon's not out. It's n-not nearly dark enough." She struggled to her feet, pulling him up by the arm. "I think it was one of the Nazgul."

"You mean, you hope?" he asked. She gave him an annoyed glance and unfolded the map.

"They're walking off the road. Very fast." Oh dear.

She thought she heard thunder rumble in the distance as she shoved the map into her bag, grabbed Severus' arm, and ran as fast as she could down the long road.

XX

"Well, this is a pretty place, isn't it?"

"Oh, certainly, Padfoot," James agreed. "It's really too bad."

He was watching Evans and Snape progress down the East-West Road on the map. They'd been walking as slowly as possible, to give the two a good head start, but it almost looked like Evans had the same idea.

"Are they really that close?" Remus was looking at the map over his shoulder, and his voice showed his fear.

"It's really really large-scale," James assured him.

"Hey."

Sirius was walking ahead of them, hand shielding his eyes from the bright sky. He stared out at the vast expanse of hills rolling away to the north. "First one to that rocky bluff gets an extra roll tonight!"

"Wait a minute!" James grabbed his mate's shoulder before he could charge off. "I think the hobbits are that way."

Sirius cocked his head. "And?"

The look on his face made James smile unwillingly, but he forced his face into neutral as he answered. "I'm not actually sure whether Evans is right or not about not altering the plot, but if we go anywhere near them, chances are she's going to know."

"And she's going to scream at us again," Sirius finished, rolling his eyes. "Fine." He abruptly shifted into his black, bear-like dog form and loped off to the hills south of the road.

James looked skyward and ruffled his hair in frustration. Sirius had never really expressed his opinion of James' feelings for Evans, but he was sure they included words like "infatuation," and "bitchy shrill." Well, sod him. He didn't expect Sirius to get it. It was all well and good for him to flirt with every girl in the house. James, personally, was getting tired of it.

"Feel sorry for the hobbits right now," Remus was saying as he stared at the map. "I remember Lily describe the Midgewater Marshes. What?" Remus shrank back when he saw the look on his face.

James looked back at the sky, watching the clouds float apart. "How much time have we got to kill?"

"Er- Four hours? I'm not sure."

Far too much time. James sighed and took a step off the path. The grass was scrubby and gray, and appeared to spread out forever, speckled with occasional pebbles - Oh, wait - giant boulders. The place never ended. He looked down at the map again. "Maybe we should stay close to the road. Do you remember what Weathertop is?"

"I think that's where the Witch King stabs Frodo."

"Okay, avoid that spot." He started marching forward, vaguely following Sirius' loping form. He cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Oi, Padfoot! Come back a minute!"

They continued together in silence, walking out of sight of the road, but not so far as to become totally lost. As the sun was setting, they heard a terrifying shriek from behind them, and in their flight almost broke their necks running down a steep hill.

James lay flat on his stomach, hands over his ears. He shuddered, and tried to calm his breathing before he looked up. Flushed with embarrassment, he reflected on how glad he was that it was just Sirius and Remus with him, and no one else had seen his very un-Gryffindor panic.

Of course, as he looked up, he saw the others had reacted the same way. Sirius was curled into a giant furry ball, quivering and pressing his paws over his ears. The curse of a keen sense of hearing. James smiled in relief and reached over to scratch him behind the ears.

"Ringwraith?" Remus asked, rolling onto his knees. He'd turned very pale, and was looking wildly about him for something. He raised his wand. "Accio Map."

"Thanks, Moony," James caught it as it zoomed up the hill and straightened his glasses as he read it. He squinted. "Maybe Ringwraiths? There are three things traveling on the road, going fast."

"Definitely Ringwraiths, then," Sirius shook himself and brushed off his sleeves. "Think they can see us?"

"Doubtful." Remus helped him up. "They're gonna meet the others at Weathertop, I think."

Sirius' eyes lit up for a moment, but then he sighed and turned away. James understood his feelings. No fighting the evil immortal creatures tonight.

"It's about to come out."

Remus was gazing at the eastern sky, the sun setting behind him. James hastily scanned over their plot on the map. The closest things to them were the Ringwraiths, steadily moving away up the road. They were alone, the only beings around for nearly two miles in any direction.

"This spot seems fine, Moony," James remarked. A thought occurred to him. "Should we carry your stuff for you?"

Remus smiled awkwardly and handed his bag to Sirius. Animagi could carry all their belongings in their form, but werewolves changed only their body. At least, that's what one of their books on shape-shifting said. Something about the concept of wizarding space...

He, Sirius and Peter had only been animagi for five months, meeting with Remus under the Willow after he'd changed and tentatively exploring the grounds. They'd never actually seen or heard Remus transform before.

He was right. The sounds were truly horrible.

XX

"What do we do if they accidentally catch up?"

Lily turned around to look at him. "What?"

"What do we do," Severus repeated, "if we suddenly see a werewolf bearing down on us?"

She stood for a brief moment, then shuddered and continued marching.

It was close to midnight. The wind whistled over the plains, and the moon lit everything in a strange ethereal glow. It reminded Severus of a tomb, in an abstract way.

"They're to the south. Close to the South Downs." She put the map back in her pouch. "We're safe for now."

"How comforting."

She pulled her traveling cloak closer as she gazed out at the vast ghostly countryside.

"Reminds me of the Lands of the Dead," she murmured to herself. She caught Severus' confused look. "It's a story I heard a long time ago. I think it's pretty obscure."

"From the Annals of Fizzen who wandered the weird?"

She looked completely baffled. "Who?"

"Obscure childrens' stories," he said simply. "I think I've seen copies in Diagon Alley."

Lily shook her head. "I'm remembering a Muggle myth," she explained.

"Of course." He mentally reprimanded himself. Of course, she's Muggle. How had he forgotten that? They walked together in silence, listening to the wind flow.

"I'm kinda surprised, Sev," she commented after a moment. "You never struck me as much of a story-reader."

What? Oh, yeah, Fizzen. "I found a copy of it buried in our attic one summer. I think my mother meant for me to read it, but just never got around to giving it to me."

"I'm sorry."

Severus shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't matter now." He stared out at the landscape, contemplating. "I have a similar question for you."

"Oh?"

"Why did you like Lord of the Rings so much?"

She stood in surprise for a few seconds, then smiled self-consciously. "I guess the easiest answer is 'it was an escape.'"

"What do you mean?"

She stared at the ground as she walked, lost in her memories. "I said my family and I were fascinated by magic and fantasy worlds. So when I was a child... I don't know whether I sensed it in me, or what, but I think that I always felt an affinity for magic. Or at least a yearning for something out of the ordinary."

He smiled. She'd certainly gained that, in many ways.

"Dad read it to us when I was five, and I was fascinated by the different races, and Gandalf, and the-- the determination of all the characters, banding together to save their world. You don't see things like that in a Muggle town, except in a child's imagination. Actually," she added, laughing softly to herself, "speaking of which, Lord of the Rings helped bring out my magic. The first time I ever used it was while acting out book scenes with Petunia; when I fought the Balrog as Gandalf, I created a bright shining light in the back yard." She gazed skyward with a wistful face, as though in painful nostalgia. "I wanted to be part of that, to fight for the fate of Middle Earth."

"And what do you want now?" What she said made some sense, but Severus was not yet satisfied. He would have thought her affection for the story would have faded after she'd entered Hogwarts and found real magic. In comparison, The Lord of the Rings would have just stood as a Muggle child's naive daydream.

Lily nodded, as though she knew what he was thinking. "I did forget about Middle Earth for a long time, until I found the books again. I was mostly rereading them for the memories, but now that I think about it, I was probably trying to escape again."

"What?" Severus was confused. "Escape from what?"

His friend laughed derisively. "The magic world."

He stared agape at her as the laughter subsided into a sigh. "I know it sounds ironic, but it makes more sense than you think."

"Enlighten me."

She chewed her lip, not looking at him. He almost thought she'd forgotten the question when she responded, "My friend's mother was killed."

This thoroughly caught Severus off his guard. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to react to that.

"Did you just change the subject?"

Probably not like that.

Her eyes were cold, her voice oddly calm. "She was killed because she was Muggle-born, married into an old Wizarding family. Jane says the 'final straw' was when she spoke out against the Death Eaters. Emma Aarons' father is an Auror, and has been in St. Mungo's for weeks. Christopher Parson's family pulled him out of Hogwarts last week - Mary, his girlfriend, reckons they've fled the country."

Severus had heard different versions of these stories, but from the other side of the issue. He focused all his energies on keeping his mouth shut.

"Do you get it?" Lily asked now, and his heart sunk to see her eyes were wet. "It's easier to read about a war you're not involved in. Watch people who are in the same situation, but who can actually do something. And you know that they'll win - that they will vanquish the evil and live on. It's almost inspiring, watching their conflicts, triumphs, and failures play out, and makes you forget about your own uncertainties."

Something clicked as Lily turned and her eyes met his own. "That's why you wanted the potion. You wanted to know?"

"It really hurt to finish the book and have to read the Daily Prophet again. People are dying, and those who aren't are either panicked and powerless or just fanning the flames. It didn't help that Mary was attacked the next day." He caught her shoot him a hard look. "I think what bothers me more than anything about this war is not knowing what will happen next."

He nodded. "So you wanted to see the future. Your own future?"

"If I wanted to know just one thing, I wouldn't have altered the potion," she reminded him.

He nodded in agreement and they subsided back into silence. Well, that answered a few questions. But still...

He hadn't realized how anxious she had been over the last few months. He thought her eagerness to finish the potion had just been to prove that she could. But, as he looked back, he had to admit that there were a lot of things that they'd both kept from each other. He thought back to Avery, sitting on the couch in the Common Room, laughing off his detention with descriptions of MacDonald's fingernails bouncing down the corridor, and fought the nausea growing in his stomach.

At least now he knew what she was scared of, he thought as he looked off into the distance. He stopped. "What is that?"

She looked to where he pointed. There was a high peak in the distance, standing like the last tree after a forest fire. The only reason he could see it were the bright flashes at the top, that burst forth intermittently, each accompanied by the faintest sound of thunder.

"Oh my god." Lily's eyes were wide. "I think it's Gandalf battling the Nazgul at Weathertop."

"You mean he's right there?" Severus' heart leapt. "But I thought you said he was at Riverdamm."

"Rivendell. I did. I forgot, beforehand the book said Frodo and the others could see bright fire flashing off of Weathertop. Later in Rivendell, Gandalf admitted that that was him fighting the Nazgul."

"Then, let's go!"

Without waiting for assent, Severus took her hand and pulled her down the road, keeping his eyes on those brief flashes on the peak.

"Wait a minute! Severus! It's too far, we're not going to make it in time. Severus, we can't leave without the others! Severus! Sev, listen to me!"

"What?" he slowed to a halt and turned around. "Lily, if we catch him now, we won't need to beat the hobbits to Riverdamm--"

"Rivendell."

"Whatever! You know what I mean. Lily, if we meet him now, it will be so much easier!" He stared at her impassive face and slumped his shoulders. "What? How is it interfering? We can wait 'til the Nazgul take off, if you want. Is it the wolf? Okay, we'll catch Gandalf before he leaves, explain our situation, and if it really bothers you, then we'll wait for wolf-boy to catch up before he sends us home. How's that."

She wasn't looking at him, but over his shoulder. Severus felt something sink in his heart as he looked back at Weathertop. The fires had died.

"Fuck it!" He picked up a rock from the ground and pitched it as hard as he could as far away as he could. The peak was still dark; it would have been invisible if he did not know it was there. "I don't bloody believe this!"

Lily flinched and clutched the hem of her cloak in her hand. "Severus."

He flushed. He shouldn't have lost his temper. He took his pouch off the crook of his elbow and looked inside it, putting off having to meet her gaze.

"Are you tired?"

Huh? He considered for a moment, still looking into the dark abyss that was his baggage. "Er- Yeah, I guess." Now that he said it, he felt a numbing weariness in his limbs. "Why?"

"We should probably get some sleep. We'll both be better off in the morning."

"Do you think it's safe to stop?" He paused, remembering his original question.

"I think I can make it safe." Lily's smile was weary, but her eyes had that familiar glitter of mischief. She brought out her wand. "How many protection charms do you know?"

He shook his head. "Not many."

She tapped the tip of her wand against her lips, considering. Suddenly she turned to him. "Let's get off the road a little."

He moved to the spot she indicated, at the bottom of a slope about ten yards from the East-West Road. Immediately she began to move around him, creating a circle about ten feet wide in diameter. As she walked around him, he could hear her whispered charms.

"Protego Totalem. Salveo Hexia. Repello Sentientum. Cave Inimicum. Protego Horribilis."

Protection charms; Severus smiled at her ingenuity and brought out his own wand. "Muffliato," he added.

She took a deep breath as she finished and looked questioningly at him. "What does that do?"

"If someone tries to eavesdrop, all they hear is a nasty buzzing noise," he explained. With a hint of pride, he added, "I invented it."

She laughed. "That sounds like something you'd do," she remarked as she sat down on the scrubby grass.

What was that supposed to mean?

He sat down next to her as she wrapped herself up in her cloak. It wasn't the first time he'd noticed, but her disguise was very disturbing. She looked like a bloke, remarkably like that one Ravenclaw, O'Hara, but as she huddled against the brisk cold wind, hiding her altered visage, then he could see Lily.

"Do you want first watch, or should I take it?"

He snapped out of his reverie to find her bright green eyes questioning him. "Watch?" he asked. "Stand watch! Right. I'll take it."

She beamed as she handed him her pouch with the map inside. "Thank you. Wake me in an hour or two." And without hesitation she rolled onto her side, tucking her cloak in all around her. The cloak was a light grey, so in the moonlight it looked for all the world like a hill covered with snow. A peaceful look.

He sighed, tugged the map out with a Summoning Charm, and settled down for a long and silent vigil.

XX

He pounded across the plain, watching the quick stag disappear over the next hill. The wolf galloped beside him, panting hard.

XX

The three caught up with Lily and Severus at the Last Bridge, on the edge of the Trollshaws. The sun was just rising over the mountains, but the two were awake and waiting.

"Good morning, you three," Lily smiled, rebraiding her hair. "You look none the worse for wear."

"Blimey, are you kind," Remus chuckled. He was fully aware that all three of them looked in desperate need for a bath. He picked a dried grass blade out of his hair and brushed off his cloak. "So how much time have we got?"

She opened her copy of the map. "Aragorn and the hobbits are in Trollshaw now. It looks like..." Her brows drew together and she looked grave as she folded the map again. "Glorfindel's riding out of Rivendell right now."

"That's the Elf messenger, right?" Severus asked. Remus was amazed he could still remember.

Lily nodded. "I think it will take a while before he finds them, though. So if we're lucky, and walk fast, we'll arrive in Rivendell at least a day before them."

"Oh,what a relief," Sirius said, stretching. "I was worried that we were ahead of schedule and had time to relax."

"We are ahead of schedule." There was no humor in her voice as she tossed her braid over her back and pulled up the hood of her cloak. "Let's go."


End file.
